Customer Reviews

The Meaning of the Glorious Qur'an : Explanatory Translation

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It used to be said that "You can't tell the players without a program." As far as the Qur'an is concerned, it is also true. Pickthall does us a great favor by letting us know a little about the sura before we begin studying it. The size of the book also helps; one would not be as likely to bring one of the larger Qur'ans across town to compare notes with other groups or during talks or teaching sessions. Pickthall's translation, unlike others', is very easy to read. I find that it makes immediate sense and flows much smoother than others. Considering size, cost, and content, it is a good choice.

A very good translation of the Quran by an Englishman who converted to Islam. The only drawback to this particular translation is that the style of English used is reminiscent of the Old English style used in the King James translation of the Bible, and so can be a bit difficult to understand on occasion. Other than this, very good. An easier to understand translation would be "The Meaning of the Holy Quran" by "Abdullah Yusuf Ali". Often that translation also contains historical commentary to make it easier to understand the history and context of much of what is written, and helps to eliminate many common misunderstandings and misconceptions.

First the good news. Mr. Pickthall has provided an introduction that satisfies the questions a semi-casual reader such as myself has as to the origins of Islam. The more important chapters ("Surahs") also have additional notes that explain their historical context, which is appreciated.

Now the bad news: the translation overall has serious problems and some of Mr. Pickthall's commentary on Islam is laughable. The most glaring problem is his insistence on using archaic grammar forms, such as "thee," "thou," "ye" and so forth in the text, as well as uncommon or archaic words -- such as "troth" and "aught" -- when modern and normal ones like "faithfulness" and "anything" would have been appropriate. I recently read a modern English translation of the Apocrypha, and found it significantly easier to read than my trusty King James translation of the Bible. I think I would have had a similarly easier experience if Mr. Pickthall had provided a modern version of the Koran.

Mr. Pickthall also has an annoying habit of translating the past participle as "used to," instead of using the straight past tense or the pluperfect. So, where a normal translation might read: "We make them taste a dreadful doom because they disbelieved" or "had disbelieved," Mr. Pickthall renders it "We make them taste a dreadful doom because they used to disbelieve." That may be a literal translation from the Arabic, but in English it's jarring, and after seeing this oddball verb form dozens if not hundreds of times, it really grates.

The revisionism. I actually laughed out loud at Mr. Pickthall's statement that Mohammed "raised women from the status of chattel to complete legal equality with man" (p. xxvi). That's nonsense. For crying out loud, in the birthplace of Mohammed, women aren't even allowed to drive cars. And the Koran itself doesn't place women on anywhere near an equal level to men. For example, men can divorce their wives by saying "I divorce you" three times, but women have no such equal right (S-rah 2:229). Men also receive greater inheritances than women. Surah 4:177. See also generally Surah 2:226-7; 4:34. Mohammed gets props for condemning female infanticide (Surah 16:58-9) but that's hardly the same thing as gender equality, I think you'd agree.

As for the Koran itself -- well, it has an intellectual consistency and vigor that Christians are unaccustomed to, since the Bible has numerous authors and styles, and clashing views of comportment, nature of God, justice, duty, salvation and mercy. The biblical author that comes closet to style and substance to Mohammed is probably Jeremiah. The Koran is fanatically monotheistic in its outlook, and the book's requirements to worship Allah could best be summarized as carrot-and-stick: worship Allah and follow His directions and be rewarded; if you don't, you'll be severely punished. The book is moreover extremely repetitive, dour, utterly humorless and, despite its energy, much more tedious than other scriptures I have read.

One more thing. Let's dispense with the political correctness and admit that the truth: the Koran provides ample justification for and/or endorsement of those who perpetrated the atrocities of September 11, 2001. See Surahs 2:190-1, 193, 246; 3:157-8, 169, 195; 4:74, 76-7; 8:39, 65; 9:5, 29, 36, 111, 123; 22:39; 47:4; 61:4.

This book was my introduction to Islam--clear, concise translation was much appreciated. I learned, also, a little of why Islam seems incapable of producing a Jesus of Nazareth, a Buddha, a St. Francis of Assisi, a Gandhi, or a Martin Luther King--only violent fanatics whose path to God is through the bodies of their perceived enemies. My name is withheld for a good reason: Christians, Jews, and Buddhists tend not to murder the critics of their respective religions. Islam, unfortunately, is a dangerous "child religion," as exemplified by its adherents in the West Bank, Gaza, Lebanon, Iran, and elsewhere. There are no Christian, Jewish or Buddhist "Salman Rushdies," if the reader will notice.